Racena Duvall
Lady Racena Duvall ''(Born Racena Elaine Duvall, February 20th, 6 B.W)'' is a mercenary from the Luxerois Federation, former Sergeant in the Grand Alliance Army and a senior Knight of the Thorn, dedicated to Yvella, the Imbringen Goddess of Lust and Revenge. A valiant woman with a strong military background, she resides in Stormwind City when not taking on a contract, but can often be found on the various battlefields where the Grand Alliance chooses to make their presence known. She carries the title of Lady, as she was at one point a noble within the Luxerois Empire before it transitioned into the Federation that it has now become. While she no longer has lands to claim as her own or much of a future in her homeland, she remains steadfastly loyal to the Federation despite her continued residence in Stormwind City and service toward the Grand Alliance as a Mercenary. Appearance A human of 38 years of age, Racena Duvall is what one might consider a fairly standard woman when it comes to her appearance. She has lightly tanned unblemished skin, long flowing red hair, bright blue eyes and gentle facial features. She is almost always seen in a set of plate armour unless she is off duty or celebrating. This is more of a force of habit than anything else, as she is used to being called upon at any moment, which means she must always be ready to serve at the drop of a hat. When she is armoured, the plates are coloured blue and are fashioned to have several spikes on the pauldrons and gauntlets, giving her the appearance of a juggernaut who could break through simple defences with a single shoulder charge, should she have the desire to. When she is not armoured, she can be seen enjoying some of the more looser styles of clothing worn by the pirates of the southern seas, although she keeps some noble fashion about her, dressing herself in a low cut silk shirt and a pair of black or dark coloured trousers, along with knee-high leather boots. Her weapon of choice is a long curved sword with a single blade similar in design to the scimitar. It is etched with various symbols of power which allow her to ignite the blade as if she had set it ablaze with oil and fire. Personality Racena is patient, but strict, having been raised in military service and taught discipline at a young age and rarely, if ever, allows herself to get angry and lose control of any situation she finds herself in. A noblewoman who knows the workings of political intrigue and tactics, she has a habit of considering every possible outcome that a situation can bring about before she makes a decision that sets her walking in one particular direction or another. Despite her strict nature, there are times when she relaxes and lets her hair down, so to speak, and it is during these times when she becomes quite a flirt. While her advances are primarily made toward women, she still manages to draw the attention of men that happen to be around her from time to time, although she is quick to shun and turn her back on men or women that use crude methods to try to get her attention. Faith Racena, being a woman that hails from the Imbringen Islands, has grown up surrounded by the faith of her lands, and as such is loyal to many different gods and goddesses. Tenants of the faiths of Loreus, Aella, Ione, Atune, and Boldar are ones that she stands by, but of all the gods and goddesses of Imbringen, it is Yvella, the Goddess of Lust and Revenge, that she is most loyal to. As one of her Knights of the Thorn, she is not only familiar with the pleasurable ways that her goddess chooses to follow, but also a firm believer in claiming revenge when one is wronged, something she has done many times in the past, even against those who were considered by many to be untouchable. Since her arrival in the Eastern Kingdoms, Racena has come to learn of the Titans, Elune and the Holy Light, and while she appreciates the faiths of other races, she has yet to worship them herself, preferring to remain loyal to the gods and goddesses of her homeland. Lands and Titles Racena once had a claim to a great deal of land and wealth in the Imbringen Islands, but unfortunately for her, lost those claims when the Luxerois people revolted against their Emperor and forced him and all the other nobles to give up their land, along with much of their wealth which sadly included both sides of her family. While she still considers herself to be a noble, she knows that her claim to the rank is flimsy at best and rarely calls herself a Lady when not in the presence of those who are unfamiliar with her history. =History= ---- Early Years and Education Racena Duvall was born in the city of Bioncourt in the year 6 B.W to Gabriel Duvall, a noble and entrepreneur, and Elaine Bourdon, a wealthy heiress. From the moment she could walk and talk, Racena was given best education possible within the Luxerois Empire. It was when she reached the age of fifteen, that she was enlisted within the Luxerois Military beginning her martial training at the rank of Captain, the standard rank for all nobles joining the armed forces of her homeland. Every day she would wake at the crack of dawn and begin endurance and weapons training, starting with blade and bow lessons. As she grew older, she moved on to practising with steel blades and firearms, and it was during this period when she gained an affinity for the curved blade, and quickly gained a reputation for being a dervish on the training grounds, often able to attack her opponents from unsuspecting places, including from behind her own back. As a Captain, she was also instructed in the ways of tactics, discipline and horsemanship and continued to learn from her tutors and from various tomes and journals until she graduated from her training at the age of eighteen, having become an accomplished swordswoman, archer and rider. From this point on she would officially serve in the Luxerois Military, and she managed to do so for several years, fighting in conflicts against various factions around her homeland, but most notably against the forces of Inferex, a nation which was always testing the boundary between peace and war with their barbarity and 'unsanctioned' raids. It was during one such skirmish that she gained the attention of General Iclasias, the leader of the Knights of the Falcon, who offered her a place within their ranks, where she would serve as a Captain of the Silver Falcons, the official peacekeepers of the city of Bioncourt. To be considered for such a placement was considered a great honour and so she accepted, leaving her standard military service behind to take up a much more privileged position. The Journey to the Eastern Kingdoms Three years into her service as a Knight of the Falcon, Racena was forced by circumstance to resign from her position as a valued peacekeeper, as she caused a scandal by killing her commanding officer within the Silver Falcons. While she was eventually vindicated of her crime, exposing the slain commander as a cultist dedicated to the God of Murder and Secrets the damage was too great to repair and so her resignation stood. With her military career in ruins, Racena could have returned to living a noble life of privilege, but instead, she chose to take up the life of an explorer. Taking the money she had earned as a peacekeeper, along with some of her family's own funds, she purchased a ship known as the Commwynne and along with a small crew of trusted sailors, she set sail with the aim of seeing what else the world had to offer. While she could have chosen to sale to Dalen, or Inferex, or even Khemesh, she instead chose a different path that took her west, far outside of the territory that had been mapped by the Imbringen cartographers. The trip was, for the most part, uneventful, although she was forced to endure several storms and raids by murlocs and a strange reptilian race which she had never seen before. Eventually, after many weeks she and her crew spotted land. Thinking that it might have been an uncharged, unexplored island, she was shocked to discover that not only was there a growing civilization on this 'island' but that it was advanced, almost as much as the land she had left behind. Unknown to her, she had landed on the eastern coast of what she would soon learn was the Kingdom of Lordaeron. Her arrival in Lordaeron went somewhat unnoticed by many. No one seemed to trouble her, as the people of Lordaeron were dealing with their own problems and did not pay much attention to a sailor with a strange accent. Deciding that this land would be an interesting place to explore, she and her crew became mercenaries, working for the highest bidder. This gave them more than a few jobs around the forests of Lordaeron, mostly dealing with bandits that were plaguing the region. It was during one of these missions when she met Helena, a solder from the Lordaeron Army that had been captured while out on patrol. Freeing Helena proved to be quite a boon, for the two were almost instantly drawn to each other, and several months after Racena freed her from the bandits, they proposed to each other and began making plans to become a married couple. Sadly for Racena, her marriage was not to be, Helena's constant work within the Army made it difficult to schedule a date when they would be able to tie the knot, and then, in the year 20 A.W, another conflict would begin within the heart of Lordaeron which would ultimately destroy everything that Racena had built for herself and for Helena. Starting with a simple case of plagued grain, the issues within Lordaeron would escalate until they exploded into a full-blown war. The Third War had begun. The Third War, A Love Lost. The Third War was the most chaotic conflict that Racena had fought in since her battles with Inferex while she served in the Luxerois Military. But unlike the Inferex soldiers, who were mostly humans that bolstered their ranks with demons, the enemy she faced here in Lordaeron was far different. The Undead Scourge did not need rest, they did not need to eat, and they did not suffer from morale like other living armies. Each battle was a battle to the death, and for many of the battles, the armies of Lordaeron lost, losing hundreds, sometimes thousands of soldiers, who would soon be raised to serve the undead war machine. It was during one of these battles, at Darrowshire, where Helena and Racena would make their 'last stand'. Aided by heroes of the Alliance, they held fast against the horrors that assailed the town but were forced to give ground when Captain Redpath was corrupted and many of the defenders turned traitor and created chaos in the ranks. Ultimately the town was lost, which would have been just another defeat, one that Racena was accustomed to, had it not been for the fact that during the final battle, Helena had been cut down by one of the traitors that turned their back on humanity. Racena managed to kill the betrayer and collect her fiance's body, but she was no priest or miracle worker and could not bring her back from the brink, the only woman she had ever truly loved was dead. Knowing that she could not leave the body of her fiance behind unless she wanted to face her once more in the future as an undead thrall. Racena fled into the Darrowshire forest, carrying her fiance's corpse on her back. Her movement was slow, but the undead forces were so busy feasting on and raising their conquered foes that they did not pursue her, allowing her to get as far as the Darrowmere Lake before she was finally able to rest. Knowing that she could carry the body no further, she took what time she had to build a small pyre with fallen timbers, and once she had enough, she set it ablaze, burning the body of Helena to not only give her the peace of death but to ensure that she could never be raised to serve as an undead thrall. Once the body was burnt, she collected what ashes she could, pouring them into a lockbox which she emptied during the burning. With that done, she began the slow process of moving south, keeping an eye out for any refugee caravans which were headed in the same direction. Eventually, she found one and was welcomed aboard, not only as a refugee herself but also as a protector. Arrival in Stormwind, Military Enlistment The refugee caravan travelled through the Arathi Highlands and into Khaz Modan, and while they did not encounter any undead along the road, the journey was far from peaceful, as many wild beasts and savage orcs attempted to raid the caravan during the trip. Several lives were lost along the way, but eventually, the caravan reached the lands owned by the Kingdom of Stormwind where they were granted asylum. Upon arrival in Stormwind City, Racena knew that she could not remain idle while there were undead out there that would likely travel south to wipe out what she thought were the last vestiges of human civilization on the Eastern Kingdoms. It was when she was in the Old Town district as luck would have it that she heard about the call for enlistment. The Alliance was recruiting able-bodied men and women, and those with mercenary or military experience would be given preference over the common folk. Marching into the barracks, she spoke to one of the commanding officers, recounting her experience as a mercenary in Lordaeron, although she left out her role in the Luxerois army. Give the rank of Sergeant, she was officially enlisted in the Alliance Military and would be expected to serve to the best of her ability from that moment forward. The Alliance Campaigns Following her enlistment in the Alliance Military, Racena took to her new role as a Sergeant with gusto. It was clear that she had leadership qualities, and so she was given the role of a Drill Sergeant, one who would train the green recruits and the privates and get them ready for the conflicts to come. In the years that followed she developed training programs, teaching the recruits how to handle different weapon types, and the importance of knowing when to parry or deflect, and when to dodge. Many of the lessons she taught were taught to her during her own days on the training ground, and so she was able to give instruction in much the same way her teachers instructed her, with strict discipline and a hardass attitude which quickly gave her the nickname 'Iron Sarge' around the training grounds. The Outland Campaign When the Dark Portal opened in the year 26, Racena was both curious and alarmed. Up until this point, she had no idea that other worlds even existed, knowing only that there was another continent across the Great Sea called Kalimdor, and that there were a race of beings, known as Orcs, which had come through a now closed portal structure deep in a territory known as the Blasted Lands, a region which Racena had never visited. When word spread that not only was the portal open but that demons were surging through in an attempt to take the Blasted Lands and establish a foothold, the Alliance Army was called into action. Racena and many of the soldiers she trained were part of the third wave of troops to go through portals that had been established in Stormwind, and when she arrived on the Stair of Destiny she was able to observe a new alien world for the first time. The battle on the Stair of Destiny was not one that ended quickly. The demons had established many portals of their own on the red ground of Hellfire Peninsula and they were able to send wave after wave of demonic troops to assail the Alliance forces. Racena fought side by side with not only the forces of the Alliance, including a new alien race called the Draenei but also alongside the exotic horde races, many of which she had never seen until now. Tauren, Orcs, Trolls, they were all strange to her. Only two races that were part of the Horde were familiar to her in the slightest, the Blood Elves and the Forsaken, and it was the Forsaken that reviled her the most, for they reminded her of the war in Lordaeron, and the loss of her fiance. Yet despite her revulsion for the undead forces in their ranks and her bitterness about how the Elves could join the Horde, Racena did not allow that to stop her from fighting alongside them to secure the Stair. For almost a whole year she rotated in and out of service on the Stair, only taking time to rest when ordered. She did not see any region of Outland beyond the stair, as the territories beyond were handled by more elite strike teams, of which she was never assigned. The Northrend Campaign The Northrend Campaign officially began during the Year 27, when Racena was still fighting on the Stair of Destiny. By this time much of the efforts on Outland had ended successfully. The Tempest Keep, Coilfang Reservoir and the Black Temple, locations of major importance to the enemy, had been hit by elite strike teams who struck down the former leader of the Blood Elves, Prince Kael'thas, the Naga leader, Lady Vashj and the Night Elf Demon Hunter, Illidan Stormrage and while the Demons still pushed from their portals, they too had been weakened by sneak attacks on their back line. Racena was given official withdraw orders in June of Year 27 and she returned to Stormwind where she was honoured for her service along with many of the other veterans who served during the same period. Rather than be immediately shipped off to Northrend, she was given the opportunity to rest and recover from her long series of battles, and so as a result, she did not go to Northrend to serve the Alliance interests there. This was a rather sore spot for her, because she knew that the enemy they were fighting in the North was the Lich King, the evil being that had created the Undead Scourge that had killed so many of her friends, along with her fiance, and yet, she could do nothing, not only because she was ordered to rest and recover from her long ordeal in Outland, but also because she knew that she would be of no use to the Alliance in her current state. The Twilight's Hammer Campaign Racena's next major campaign took place in the Year 28 when the Black Dragon, Deathwing, broke out of the Plane of Earth and in doing so caused a great upheaval across the entirety of Azeroth. Many of the regions that Racena was familiar with were altered heavily, and she even received word that the region of Khemesh had almost been eradicated due to the sudden creation of an active volcano that wiped out eighty percent of the population. Even Stormwind was not spared in the destruction, as Deathwing had personally flown over the city, destroying an entire district and killing thousands before flying off to locations unknown. To Racena's credit, she managed to keep herself calm and collected during the chaos even though she lost many friends in the destruction, both within the city and abroad. The Stormwind Army remained in a chaotic state, as it was revealed by none other than Prince Anduin himself that many of the guard, as well as Major Samuelson, who also happened to be Racena's commanding officer, were agents of a doomsday cult known as the Twilight's Hammer. With Samuelson outed as a traitor to the Alliance, it was only natural that all under his command were also suspected, and Racena was hauled into questioning and grilled by SI:7 who wanted to determine if she was also corrupted or if she remained loyal. This caused Racena a great deal of outrage. She had fought and bled for the Alliance, shown them exactly how loyal she was despite not even being born in the Eastern Kingdoms, and now they were treating her as if she may be a cultist because of what her commanding officer did without her knowledge. Knowing that her career in the Stormwind Army was at an end, she resigned her commission as a Sergeant and left Stormwind behind her, choosing to travel north, back to Lordaeron. She had heard some news of a holy order known as the Argent Crusade which had reclaimed much of Lordaeron from the clutches of the Scourge and if she could do nothing else with her life, she would do her best to ensure the land where she started her Eastern Kingdoms journey on would be purified again. After many weeks of travel to the northern end of Lordaeron, she arrived in the Argent Crusade stronghold of Hearthglen, and once there, she joined the holy order, enlisting as a simple recruit but over time she would establish a name for herself, at least until the day came when the Crusade would suffer its worst blow yet. The Broken Isles Campaign The Broken Isles Campaign turned out to be a turning point for Racena. For the past 2 years, Racena had served within the Argent Crusade, fighting against the remains of the Undead Scourge and the Scarlet Crusade, who had, for the most part, been turned into undead by the Dreadlord, Balnazzar. She had made a name for herself in that time, having fought in the streets of the ruined city of Stratholme, and having been part of a raid that had pushed into the heart of the Cult of the Damned academy in Scholomance, located below the island of Caer Darrow. However, when the Burning Legion invaded once again, that is when she was forced to accept pain and loss once more. Like many others in the Crusade, Racena followed the Highlord, Tirion Fordring, in an attempt to crush the demon invasion before they could establish a foothold. They were sure that their military strength, along with their ability to wield the holy power of the light, would secure victory before the armies of the Horde and Alliance could arrive. They were wrong. The Burning Legion was heavily entrenched on the Broken Shore when they arrived, and all of the Crusaders, including Racena, were captured. While Racena ended up in a cage, left to rot until the Burning Legion could figure out a use for her, many of her brethren were tortured or killed, and even the Highlord proved unable to stop them, having been captured, critically wounded and left for dead by the warlock Gul'dan. Racena was eventually rescued, but by then the Argent Crusade had suffered critical losses. Many of their numbers chose to join the reformed Silver Hand, while others, including Racena, were left wondering if there was a future for the Crusade. Ultimately Racena left the Argent Crusade behind, returning to her life as a mercenary. She returned to Stormwind, where she began to take contract jobs for hire, only going to the Broken Isles when she was paid to. It was during this time when she began to assist the Stormwind City Guard, working once more as a drill instructor, at least for a time, until they no longer needed her services, at which point she returned to her mercenary duties, which she continues to this day.Category:Characters Category:Lordaeron Peerage